Do I need a sales tax permit in Arizona?

Every person who receives gross proceeds of sales or gross income on which Arizona's transaction privilege tax is imposed must obtain a TPT license from the Department of Revenue before engaging or continuing in business. Arizona calls the registration an Arizona transaction privilege tax (TPT) license. For a seller outside Arizona, the economic nexus threshold is $100,000 in sales in the previous or current calendar year. Arizona's own rule sets which sales count toward it and when registration must follow.

Sales tax permit · Arizona

How to Get an Arizona Transaction Privilege Tax (TPT) License

The short answer. In Arizona, the registration a business must hold before it makes sales subject to Arizona transaction privilege tax is an Arizona transaction privilege tax (TPT) license, issued by the Arizona Department of Revenue.

Arizona Transaction Privilege Tax (TPT) License at a Glance

What Arizona calls it	Arizona Transaction Privilege Tax (TPT) License
Issued by	Arizona Department of Revenue
How to apply	Online or paper
Fee	$12 per location (see Cost)
Security deposit or bond	May be required
Expires	Renewed every year
Several locations	One for each location (see Locations)
Local transaction privilege tax	Covered by the state registration
Threshold for sellers outside the state	$100,000 in sales

Read from the government sources listed at the foot of this page, last checked September 29, 2026. See the sources.

Who Needs an Arizona Transaction Privilege Tax (TPT) License

Every person who receives gross proceeds of sales or gross income on which Arizona's transaction privilege tax is imposed must obtain a TPT license from the Department of Revenue before engaging or continuing in business.

For a seller outside Arizona, the economic nexus threshold is $100,000 in sales in the previous or current calendar year. Arizona's own rule sets which sales count toward it and when registration must follow.

How to Apply

You apply to the Arizona Department of Revenue. You can apply online or on a paper application. Go to Arizona's registration page.

What It Costs

The transaction privilege tax (TPT) license costs $12 for each location. The $12 state fee applies to each business location. A business in a city or town that levies a privilege tax also pays that city's license fee of up to $50, which the Department collects with the application, and a remote seller licensed only because of the sales threshold pays no city fee.

Arizona may require security, such as a bond or deposit. The Department may require a bond when it deems one necessary to protect the tax revenue, for example when it finds a new applicant would be unable to pay on time or it had collection problems with the applicant's earlier business. Licensed contractors and manufactured building dealers based outside Arizona, or in business in Arizona for less than one year, must post a bond of at least $2,000.

Does It Expire?

The transaction privilege tax (TPT) license is renewed every year. The license is valid for the calendar year it is issued and must be renewed by January 1 each year. The state renewal is free, but cities charge renewal fees of up to $50, due January 1 and late after the last business day of January.

More Than One Location

A business needs a separate transaction privilege tax (TPT) license for each place of business in Arizona. Each location needs its own license and $12 fee, but locations under the same ownership can share one license number and file one consolidated return.

Local Transaction privilege Taxes in Arizona

The Department of Revenue also issues the city and town privilege tax licenses and collects city and county privilege taxes, so you apply for the state and city licenses together. ADOR notes a city may separately require a business or occupational license, which is not a tax registration.

Worth Knowing in Arizona

You can apply online at AZTaxes.gov, through Arizona's Business One Stop portal, or on the paper Joint Tax Application (Form JT-1), which also covers withholding and unemployment insurance registration.

More for Arizona Businesses

Arizona resale certificate, for buying inventory for resale.
Sales tax nexus checker, to see which other states your sales may require you to register in.
Arizona LLC guide, for forming and running an LLC in the state.
LLC guide for eBay sellers in Arizona, for selling only through a marketplace.

Frequently Asked Questions

: Every person who receives gross proceeds of sales or gross income on which Arizona's transaction privilege tax is imposed must obtain a TPT license from the Department of Revenue before engaging or continuing in business. Arizona calls the registration an Arizona transaction privilege tax (TPT) license. For a seller outside Arizona, the economic nexus threshold is $100,000 in sales in the previous or current calendar year. Arizona's own rule sets which sales count toward it and when registration must follow.
: The transaction privilege tax (TPT) license costs $12 for each location. The $12 state fee applies to each business location. A business in a city or town that levies a privilege tax also pays that city's license fee of up to $50, which the Department collects with the application, and a remote seller licensed only because of the sales threshold pays no city fee. Arizona may require security, such as a bond or deposit. The Department may require a bond when it deems one necessary to protect the tax revenue, for example when it finds a new applicant would be unable to pay on time or it had collection problems with the applicant's earlier business. Licensed contractors and manufactured building dealers based outside Arizona, or in business in Arizona for less than one year, must post a bond of at least $2,000.
: The transaction privilege tax (TPT) license is renewed every year. The license is valid for the calendar year it is issued and must be renewed by January 1 each year. The state renewal is free, but cities charge renewal fees of up to $50, due January 1 and late after the last business day of January.
: A business needs a separate transaction privilege tax (TPT) license for each place of business in Arizona. Each location needs its own license and $12 fee, but locations under the same ownership can share one license number and file one consolidated return.
: The Department of Revenue also issues the city and town privilege tax licenses and collects city and county privilege taxes, so you apply for the state and city licenses together. ADOR notes a city may separately require a business or occupational license, which is not a tax registration.

This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. It reports what each state's law and tax agency say about the registration a business holds before it makes taxable sales, with the sources this page cites. It cannot tell you whether your own business must register: that turns on what you sell, where you sell it from, and how much you sell into the state, and fees, security rules and thresholds change between our reviews. Confirm your own position with the tax agency named on this page before you start selling.

Sources

Each entry below is a document recorded in our verified Arizona sources, and each entry says what the document is. Some statutory text is read from an accurate mirror rather than from the state's own host, and those say so.

azleg.gov/ars/42/05005.htmA.R.S. 42-5005, Transaction privilege tax and municipal privilege tax licenses; fees; renewal
azleg.gov/ars/42/05044.htmA.R.S. 42-5044, Nexus; out-of-state businesses; threshold
azleg.gov/ars/42/01102.htmA.R.S. 42-1102, Taxpayer bonds
azleg.gov/ars/42/05006.htmA.R.S. 42-5006, Taxpayer bonds; out of state licensed contractors and manufactured building dealers
azleg.gov/ars/42/06001.htmA.R.S. 42-6001, Collection and administration of transaction privilege tax and affiliated excise taxes
azleg.gov/ars/42/06103.htmA.R.S. 42-6103, County general excise tax
azdor.gov/business/transaction-privilege-tax/tpt-licenseADOR: TPT License
azdor.gov/transaction-privilege-tax/tpt-license/applying-tpt-licenseADOR: Applying for a TPT License
azdor.gov/transaction-privilege-tax/tpt-license/renewing-tpt-licenseADOR: Renewing a TPT License
azdor.gov/business/transaction-privilege-tax/retail-sales-subject-tpt/out-state-sellers/licensing-and-renewalADOR: Licensing and Renewal Requirements (out-of-state sellers)

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Edmond Hui · Founder, MyStateLLC

Edmond Hui is a software engineer and serial entrepreneur based in New York who has founded multiple online businesses across e-commerce, media, and information publishing. Before transitioning into tech, he spent years as a commercial real estate professional closing deals totaling over 100,000 square feet, giving him firsthand experience with business formation and entity structuring. He built MyStateLLC to provide the free, state-specific LLC guidance he wished existed when forming his own companies.